Next Thursday, February 21st, there will be a hearing in Annapolis on the “Maryland Liberty Preservation Act of 2013” (HB 558), a short 2-page bill sponsored by Delegate Don Dwyer (R, District 31, Anne Arundel County) that would prohibit “an agency of the State, a county of the State, an employee of the State or a county acting in an official capacity, or a member of the Maryland National Guard or the Maryland Defense Force, on official State duty, to knowingly aid an agency of the United States in the detention of a person in accordance with” the infamous indefinite detention provisions of the NDAA.

MCCRC activists will travel to Annapolis and attend the hearing to support the bill and submit oral and written testimony. Join us! Contact mococivilrights@gmail.com to let us know you’re coming or click “Going” at the Facebook event announcement; car pooling is possible.

The Health and Government Operations Committee hearing will be held at 1pm in the Lowe House Office Building (6 Bladen Street, Annapolis; link, map). Suggested parking is at the Navy Stadium (map); one can then ride the Annapolis Shuttle/Trolley to the Legislative Services Building stop, and cross the street to the Lowe House Office Building (shuttle information).

Each person will have 3 minutes to testify, and one can also submit written testimony of greater length. Written testimony should have your name and contact information on the top, along with the bill number and the position you take on it- “SUPPORT”.

For written testimony, bring 40 copies and submit them to the Committee staff (Health and Government Operations Committee, room 241) — or, alternatively, Delegate Dwyer’s staff have offered to make the required copies and submit them to the committee on behalf of anyone who submits written statements by Wednesday, February 21st; email written testimony to don.dwyer@house.state.md.us, following the guidelines above. Additional committee guidelines are posted here, and include signing in 15 minutes prior to the hearing.

While personal, oral testimony and visible support for the bill would be best, it’s also possible to submit written testimony up to one day before the hearing.

This is short notice, and the hearing is of course during weekday work hours. We still hope some of you can join us. This remains a very, very important civil liberties issue: an unwarranted claim of authority to indefinitely detain, without due process, persons even merely alleged to be associated with groups designated as terrorist organizations, far from any battlefield or conflict zone. Conceding such broad authority to the U.S. federal government is neither necessary, constitutional, or wise.